On the Matter of Coffee Rankings
by NeoNails
Summary: Spoilers for In the Light. This mission had drug up more than a few painful memories for her. Specifically regarding Ben Mercer. And that wasn't even covering Jai Wilcox and all his charm. Thank God she had Auggie around. Annie/Auggie


Alright, here's 5 for 5 of my oneshot-per-episode. I was pretty saddened by this one, because not only did we have Jai to contend with but also Ben. Where the hell was the Auggie/Annie action, USA channel? :(

And I don't know if anyone has seen the latest 'generic' _CA_ commercial (it's one of the really long ones) but there's like this second-and-a-half clip of Auggie making out with some girl in a towel (no complaints there…) and for this horrible moment I thought she was the actress that played Liza Hearn so I hit the rewind DVR button like 12 times before I kind of convinced myself that she's the girl that'll be playing his ex-girlfriend in the 'Auggie Episode' (1.07, I believe).

If he winds up being the leak, I may stop watching the show, 'cuz that'll just break my heart. :(

This was a good episode, but (as previously mentioned) kinda difficult to find good Auggie/Annie inspiration. As a result, I'm basically just opening up this Word doc and trying to figure it out from there. XD I seriously need a more efficient way of being creative.

Again, spoilers for this week's episode, _In the Light_ (1.05).

$4$

_It's just the way you say my name that throws me  
__All the windows of my past are closing_

- "For You from Me," by Jon McLaughlin

**

* * *

**

This most recent mission had been rough.

Annie supposed the mission had been rough on everyone, but this one in particular had drug up more than a few painful memories for her. Memories of Ben, specifically.

It was ridiculous, she supposed, because it had been two years and they had only been together for three months and it still hurt. Every time she thought she was finally getting better, that she was finally starting to move on, something would go wrong and suddenly she would find herself knocked all the way back to square one.

Then there was Jai, who was way too flirty and way too charming and it basically added up to a way too distracted Annie Walker. She couldn't figure him out, because he seemed to hate his father about as much as everyone else that ever had extended contact with Henry Wilcox, but no matter what there was something… off about him.

Try as she might, she couldn't quite put her finger on it, but every time Jai said something even remotely charismatic it was as though a little red flag popped up in the back of her head, reminding her to tread carefully.

I didn't help matters that Auggie basically despised Jai Wilcox and everything he did for the Agency. There had been a couple points during the last few days that Annie had thought maybe- just maybe- Auggie was being a little hard on the DCS liaison, but when it came down to it Auggie was her closest friend in the DPD and the only person that she knew she could trust without a doubt.

The longer she worked for the CIA, the more certain she became that she could trust pretty much no one, but always having Auggie on her side made things seem less bleak. If he disliked someone as much as Jai, she had to trust that there was a very good reason for it.

It was so confusing, constantly trying to pick and choose a side for a battle that no one ever seemed to win. She wished she could hit a giant rewind button and go back to Sri Lanka, back to when her whole world revolved solely around her and Ben and being able to go anywhere she wanted, do anything she wanted, whenever she decided.

Life was so much easier back then.

She was left with such miserable thoughts, she couldn't force herself to leave the DPD and head back to her guest house. She wasn't sure she would be even capable of putting on a fake smile and spout some of her usual bullshit to appease Danielle.

It was after hours, and most of the staff had either left the bullpen to file various papers or just left for the end of the day, but Annie chose to stay away from what few people were left in the DPD. She stuck with the tech ops office because she knew the guys were all gone for the night and it was cut off from everyone else. Also, even though she was _never_ going to mention this to anyone, she liked to sit in Auggie's chair, and if she tilted her head the right way and stayed really still, she was convinced she could smell his scent, ingrained in the fabric after so many long hours at work.

However, even she was aware that kind of behavior was creepy and at very borderline stalker-ish, so she had decided a while ago if anyone asked why she sat in his chair it was because his was the most comfortable. Which was true, just not her main motive.

She stared at his computer, slowly going through a screensaver of the CIA logo, letting out a soft sigh. The longer she worked here, the more she was positive that she was never going to understand her job.

"Was that a sigh? Is someone- Annie, are you in here?"

She flinched, blushing guiltily when she saw Auggie standing there in the doorway. She was supposed to be a CIA agent, but she somehow managed to let the blind guy sneak up on her. "Yeah, I'm in here," she said softly, turning in his chair to face him.

He was leaning against the doorjamb, and he must've changed out of his jacket and button-down after the celebration for Henry Wilcox, because he was back in a black t-shirt and jeans. His arms were crossed over his chest and she was reminded again how, despite being unable to see and a total tech geek, he was in really, really good shape. Possibly better than most of the field operatives she worked with- including Jai.

That had to piss a lot of the guys off.

"Are you… you're sitting in my chair, aren't you?" he asked, and he had this sort of I-can't-believe-you grin on his face that made her blush all the harder.

"Yes," she admitted, trying to not sound too ashamed of herself. "I wasn't really in the mood to hang around people right now." Looking away from him, she picked up his little Gripmaster thing and spun it on the glass table.

Auggie snorted, and his smile took on more of a bitter element that had been appearing with almost startling regularity since they had started this mission. "I can't blame you there," he said, finally stepping into his office and wandering over to her. "Though I would've thought you would have been too busy out at the tavern with Jai."

She blinked, stunned at his comment. If she didn't know better, she would've sworn that was jealousy clouding his tone, but this was Auggie, her best friend, and there was no reason for him to be jealous. Sight or no sight, the guy could have his pick of pretty much any woman they ran across. She was just another green newbie that had no idea all the shit that went into the CIA and he was a nice enough guy to help her out.

So the idea of him actually being jealous of Jai was preposterous.

"Nah, of everyone right now I'm pretty sure you're the only person I could stand to drink with at this point," she said, smiling wryly as he leaned against the edge of his desk next to her. "Even though you haven't exactly been Mr. Personality as of late."

He flashed a grin she could only describe as 'disarming' and said, "I've been perfectly nice. For the most part."

"Except when it comes to the subject of Jai Wilcox," she said with a small laugh. "And Henry Wilcox. And about all of the Central Intelligence Agency."

That smile lost most of its brightness and the bitterness replaced it almost instantaneously. "You can work anywhere long enough and you're going to start see all the problems that lurk under the surface," he said. "If you'll excuse the crappy irony."

Annie smiled back, albeit wanly. "You still work here, though," she said softly. "You must like it here. A little."

When he didn't immediately respond, she chewed on her bottom lip nervously. "And if we're gonna be honest, I don't think I would know what to do with myself if you quit."

Auggie chuckled, but it didn't sound like his real laugh- too forced. "I'm sure Joan would find someone to help you out. Hell, Jai would probably be the first to volunteer."

Again with that tone. Was he really jealous of Jai? It seemed too ridiculous to be true. She frowned, eyebrows drawing together. "I wasn't talking about needing help," she said, standing up and pushing his chair aside. "I was talking about how I would miss you. Why would you think that?"

Genuine surprise crossed his face, and Annie felt more tired than ever. "You're like my closest friend here," she said, enunciating clearly. "You do know that, right?"

It was surprising, considering how much she missed Ben, but the long, heavy pause that passed between the two of them just about broke her heart way more than she thought it ever would.

She nodded once and muttered a low, "Forget I said anything." She grabbed her jacket from off his chair, brushing passed him and heading for the door.

Before she could get the hell out of there with what little dignity she had left, he caught her by her upper arm and dragged her towards him. Her breath caught instinctively in her throat when she stumbled a bit and collided with him, hands resting on either side of his chest.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, and she could feel the words reverberate through her. His head was bowed a little, hands resting lightly on her hips. "You're one of my closest friends, too. I just have a hard time believing it when you say it."

It was funny, because when she was around Auggie, thoughts about Ben and Sri Lanka and those three months sort of… fell by the wayside. Even Jai, with all of his skills with the ladies and undeniable charisma, couldn't manage that one. "You know, for a genius that's a really dumb thought," she said, smiling slightly. She toyed with the collar of his t-shirt a little nervously. "I don't think there's anyone else in this office that could qualify as my best friend _other_ than you."

He grinned for real and it took everything in her not to sigh in relief. It was bad enough she felt pretty much every muscle relax at the same time. "Does this mean we're going to have slumber parties now and braid each other's hair?"

Annie let out a burble of laughter, dropping her head to rest on his shoulder before she could think twice. "God, I hope not," she mumbled, letting her arms come up and kind of wrap around his neck in probably one of the most bizarre yet most natural hugs of her life. "You're hair is a mess enough as it is."

"Hey, I like my hair. You said it was cute," he said mock-defensively, but she knew he wasn't taking it too personally when his hands slipped more securely around her waist and pulled her a tiny bit closer.

She laughed again, silently amazed at how comfortable it was to hug him. She may have been in a need for some male companionship, but this seemed different. More significant. "You're hair is cute 'cause it's always a mess."

There was still Ben. There was probably to be still Ben for the rest of time. There was still Jai, even if it was mostly because of lust.

But so long as there was always Auggie in the picture, Annie was positive she was going to find a way to go on.

$4$

Another kind of long oneshot, and yet again another kind of angsty oneshot. These episodes just have not led to happy plotlines for me, apparently. This makes me absolutely terrified for how this will translate for the rest of the season.

Especially if USA does something evil with Liza Hearn and Auggie. I am not afraid to punch a screenwriter if it's for the greater good. This so qualifies as the greater good.

On a significantly perkier note, there may or may not be a series of drabble-y oneshots in the M-rated secton coming from me that'll be posted on Friday... But 'cuz I'm evil I'll just leave it there. ;)

Anyway, I hoped you liked this newest ep-oneshot!


End file.
